


Twisted

by GothicBarbie



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Anger, Angst, Blackmail, Boys Kissing, Bullying, Chaptered, Cheating, Comfort, Humiliation, Jealousy, M/M, Mischief, Pining, Revenge, Sexual Tension, Threats, Violence, Virginity, villain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-24
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-22 06:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/606580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicBarbie/pseuds/GothicBarbie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Highschool AU where Liam and Harry are best friends. Harry has been crushing on Liam for years and wants to tell him how he feels, but there's a new boy in school, Louis Tomlinson, who's there to stir things up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies now for making Louis the villain in this one. I didn't really intend for it to go that way but well... It took on a mind of it's own. Sorry Lou, I love you. <3

 

Liam is sitting at the lunch table, quietly enjoying his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, when his best friend Harry plops down at the table next to him.

“Mmm, that looks good” Harry says as he reaches over and grabs some chips from Liam.

“Hey, get your own!” Liam playfully yells back, slapping Harry’s hand away.

“Ow! You won’t eat them anyway,” Harry laughs as he plops one into his mouth, “they’re too fattening for you. Isn’t that what you said?”

Liam rolls his eyes but doesn’t respond, he knows Harry is right. Harry is always right.

Harry smiles and watches Liam eat. It’s amazing how good he can look while doing something so simple. But Harry may be biased; he’s been crushing on Liam for years now.

Liam looks to Harry and smiles. Harry wonders if Liam has any inkling how he feels. Harry knows he should just suck it up and tell him but he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. Liam is Harry’s only friend and has been for three years now. He wouldn’t do anything to ruin it.

Just as Harry is about to ask Liam about his day his attention is pulled to the corner of the room.

“Who is that?” Liam asks, following Harry’s gaze.

A boy with tousled brown hair and bright red pants is being shown around by the principal. He looks bored out of his mind.

“I dunno,” Harry responds, “he must be new.”

Liam turns back to face Harry, “you know, I actually remember hearing about him in first period. Some girls were talking about how cute he was.”

“He’s not that cute.” Harry scuffs. Okay, so that’s a lie. The guy is gorgeous. But he doesn’t want Liam to think so.

“I also heard that he was sent here to live with his grandmother. Apparently his parents found him with another guy and he was kicked out.”

“Wow.” Harry replies.

Harry actually feels a bit of sadness for the guy. He knows how tough it is to be one of the only gay kids in school. It was the reason that him and Liam had bonded in the first place. Though, luckily for them they had accepting parents.

“It could just be a rumor though.” Liam says, looking at the boy one more time.

“But you’re hoping it isn’t?” Harry teases. He wants to get a feel of what Liam is thinking.

“Shut up.” Liam picks up a chip and throws it at Harry. “He’d never be interested in me anyway.”

_Yeah right_. Harry thinks to himself. But he’ll do everything in his power to make sure that doesn’t happen.

 

\---

 

It was around 3:30 in the afternoon. School had finished and Liam was outside by his car waiting for Harry. Liam always gave Harry rides home because they lived so close together.

“Hey…” Liam yelled as his curly haired friend came running out of the building 15 minutes late, “what took you so long?”

“Sorry mate, I had to talk to Mr. Stevens about that make up test I missed last week. Sorry, I forgot to tell you this morning.” Harry steps beside Liam and leans back on the car to catch his breath.

“That’s cool, just worried you stood me up.” Liam teases.

Before Harry can respond with some snarky remark the boys are interrupted by a very familiar looking figure.

“Liam!” the boy with the red pants yells and makes his way over to the duo. “I forgot to give this back to you.”

Harry watches as the boy hands a pencil to Liam. Pft. What a sorry excuse. A pencil? Really?

“Oh, thanks.” Liam responds, grabbing the pencil from the boy. Harry can’t help but notice how Liam’s face had lit up after making contact with him.

“Harry,” Liam turns to face Harry, “this is Louis. He’s the new guy everyone’s been talking about.”

Louis chuckles “I wouldn’t say everyone.”

Harry smiles at Louis and watches as he engages in conversation with Liam. How did Liam and Louis know each other? And why did Liam look so happy to see him? Harry’s thoughts are interrupted when he notices Louis reach out and brush a hair away from Liam’s face. _What the fuck?_

“Your hair was in your eyes.” Louis says flirtatiously.

What exactly was going on here?

Louis nods slightly at Harry before turning around and walking away. Harry swears he could see a look of annoyance in the boys face as he made eye contact with him. Maybe he was just imagining things.

“Umm,” Harry begins, “what was that?” He turns to confront Liam.

“What was what?” Liam asks innocently as he walks around to his car and throws his bag in the back seat.

“That!” Harry scuffs. He yanks on the passenger door handle and gets inside the car, Liam goes to join on the other side. “How do you know him?”

“Oh, we had 6th together. It’s no big deal.” Liam starts the engine.

“No big deal? You were smiling from ear to ear when he came over! He brushed a hair out of your face!” Harry is quite aware of how loud his voice has gotten.

“Harry, it’s nothing, I swear. We talked for like 2 minutes. He asked to borrow a pencil. That was it.” Liam looks at Harry for a second, his expression sincere.

Harry wants so badly to believe his friend, but he doesn’t know that he can. It was one thing dealing with a new guy that Liam may or may not be interested in, but it was a whole other thing dealing with a guy that was clearly interested in Liam too. HIS Liam.

Harry blurts out, “do you like him?”

“No.” Liam responds immediately. Harry waits for him to continue, but he doesn’t. Liam just stares straight ahead as he drives. Harry decides to drop the subject for now. Maybe he’s overreacting? Maybe Liam is telling the truth.

If so, then why is he blushing?

\---

As Harry arrived to school the next day thoughts of Liam and Louis weighed heavily on his mind. What if Liam really liked Louis? What if they started dating? How was Harry supposed to handle that? _I’m getting ahead of myself._ Harry thought. But he couldn’t help but feel wary of Louis. He knew he didn’t exactly have a reason to, but something felt off about him the day before.

Harry reached his locker and noticed a picture that had been hanging inside for the last year. Of course, it was one of him and Liam. Harry knew he should just suck it up and tell Liam how he felt about him, but he knows he’s way too much of a chicken for that. And he always assumed eventually it would happen naturally. But with Louis in the picture now, maybe that was a pipe dream.

Ironically, Louis strolled up to Harry at that exact moment.

“Well, hello, Harold. Can I call you that?”

Today Louis had on purple pants and a matching (and in Harry’s opinion, ugly) purple jacket. Did the guy always dress so eccentrically?

“Actually, it’s just Harry” Harry snapped back. He didn’t mean for it to come off so rude, but he wasn’t exactly sorry for it either.

“Wow, you’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” Louis puts his hands in his pockets and smirks at Harry.

Harry is unsure what to say so he just turns back his locker and pretends to grab something out of his bag. Louis doesn’t take the hint and remains in place. He places a hand on top of Harry’s locker and peaks inside, looking at the photo.

“I saw how you looked at him yesterday.” Louis smirks again and Harry looks up.

What did he just say? Harry isn’t sure if it’s supposed to be a dig, or if it’s just a general statement, but again it rubs him the wrong way.

“We’re best friends.” Harry says blankly. “And by the way, I don’t know where he is, so you’re wasting your time here.”

Harry knows he’s being mean, but it’s been him and Liam for three years now, he’s not happy about some new guy suddenly coming into their lives.

“Oh, I wasn’t looking for him.” Louis isn’t smiling anymore and instead he’s looking at Harry…

Harry blinks. Is Louis actually flirting with him right now?

“Listen, I don’t know what game you’re playing here Louis, but I’m not interested in participating and neither is Liam, okay?” Harry’s had enough of this already and slams his locker door shut. As he turns to walk away he hears Louis yell out to him.

“Well, according to this…” Louis reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone “Liam seems plenty interested.” Louis smirks one final time and turns slowly around, walking in the opposite direction.

So the rumors were true. This kid is trouble.

 

\----

 

 “Have you been texting Louis?”  Harry asks Liam as he pulls him aside after class.

“What?” Liam laughs, caught off guard.

“Yes or no?” Harry is growing impatient.

“Okay, come on.” Liam sighs, then pulls Harry with him. Liam wants to get away from the crowd of people in the hallway so he can talk to Harry in a quieter space. Once they find a place, Liam answers. “He asked for my number yesterday so I gave it to him. We talked a little bit last night… that’s all. Why are you asking?”

Harry can see that Liam is looking at him intensely trying to understand. Harry immediately softens.

“I ran into him earlier today and he mentioned something about it.” Harry looks down, feeling stupid.

“Yeah, so? Do you have a problem with that?”

“I just...” Harry thought of how to continue, “I don’t trust the guy.”

Liam laughs again, “You don’t trust him? Do you even know him?”

Harry hesitates.

“Not really. But I talked to him this morning and he gave me a creepy vibe.”

Liam looked skeptical. “A creepy vibe? What does that mean? What did he do?”

“I don’t know.” Harry sighs. He knows this is all coming out wrong. “He just acted really flirty with me today.”

 “Okay,” Liam nods, “so he’s a flirty person. So what? Harry, he’s not tied down to anyone. Maybe that’s just his personality.”

“No.” Harry insists. Why can’t Liam understand what he’s trying to say? “It seemed like he was trying to threaten me or something.”

Harry could see the doubt in Liam’s eyes.

“Liam, I mean it. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

Liam reaches for Harry’s hand. “Harry, I appreciate that, really, but I can take care of myself okay?”

Harry wants to trust that Liam will be able to see through Louis, but he cant help being protective.

“I don’t know exactly what this thing with Louis is, if it’s gonna be anything at all, but you have to trust my judgment, Harry. I really think he’s just misunderstood.” Liam squeezes Harry’s hand. “This is the first time a guy has shown any interest in me and I kinda of want to explore that. Please just be happy for me?”

Harry wants to scream. He wants to find Louis and kick his ass back to wherever he came from. He wants things to go back to how they used to be, when it was just the two of them. But he knows that’s impossible.

“Okay.”

Liam squeezes Harry’s hand lightly a second time, then stands to head to his next class. As Harry watches him walk away he wants to scream out, BUT _I_ LOVE YOU!

Instead, he says nothing at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry confronts Louis.

It was Friday night and once again Harry found himself alone. (Nights that were usually spent with his best friend.) It had been only a month since Louis had arrived but lately things had been different and Harry felt like with each passing day they only got worse. Liam had been spending an awful lot of time with Louis, which meant Harry saw less and less of him. Harry had never felt so lonely in his entire life and he wanted more than anything to just be able to confide in his best friend about what he was feeling, but he knew that wasn’t an option. Liam seemed really happy and Harry didn’t want to take that away from him. Not to mention that the first time Harry had tried to warn Liam it didn’t go so well.

Since then Louis had still been acting hot and cold. Whenever Liam was around he was sweet and kind and seemed like a great person. But whenever it was just Louis and Harry (and if Harry had any say in things it never would be) Louis acted different. He was cold and calculating and always seemed to have a smirk on face like there was some hidden agenda that Harry didn’t know about. The guy gave him the creeps to be honest, but it was no use trying to explain that to Liam. Liam only saw what he wanted to see. And even though Liam swore they weren’t official, Harry could tell that he really liked the guy.

So Harry was trying. Really, he was. It killed him to see another guy with his arms around Liam, (and even more with his lips on Liam’s) but seeing Liam smile so much made things a little better. Of course Harry wanted to be the cause for that, but Liam’s happiness was the number one priority and if it was Louis that was giving it to him, then Harry had to try to be okay with it.

Harry was sitting alone in his living room dwelling on all of these thoughts when his phone buzzed. It was a text, from who else but Liam.

_I’m so sorry I had to cancel tonight, H. - make it up to you later k?_

Harry ignores the text and slams his phone down on the table, changing the channel and trying to focus on something else. Three weeks in a row Liam had bailed on him and it was starting to get old. Liam’s empty promises didn’t mean much to Harry anymore and he was getting sick of it. Harry flips off the tv and leaves the house. He’s not sure where he’s going but he knows he has to get out of here and do something. Anything.

 

\--

 

It’s not long before Harry finds himself at a bar. He really doesn’t drink all that often, but when he does he find that it weirdly calms him. And it’s the only thing he can think of doing right now. He had also walked, yes an entire mile (which would be nothing for athletic Liam, but for Harry it’s pretty much torture) to get here, but at least he didn’t have to worry about drinking and then driving.

After wasting a few hours Harry feels good and tipsy and decides he’d better get home before he does something stupid. He exits the bar and is about to head around the corner when he spots a very familiar purple jacket in the distance. It’s Louis… and he’s not with Liam, but some other guy. And they look extremely… friendly. Harry pulls out his phone and is about to text Liam when he sees he already has a message.

_He had to cancel, he wasn’t feeling well. Do you still want to hang out?_

Harry checks the time of the text; it was sent an hour earlier. Well, well, well, looks like Louis is a big fat liar and a cheater. Not that Harry really expected anything less from the guy. He told Liam he was sick? Yeah, he’s sick alright.  

Harry wants to respond but decides to do it later, right now he has a better idea… to follow Louis.

Louis and his “date” walk pretty fast and it’s hard for Harry to keep up, especially since he’d been drinking and wasn’t entirely focused. But eventually Louis says his goodbyes to the other guy, with a very long and sloppy goodbye kiss, and Louis heads back in the Harry’s direction.

Harry knows he should leave. That he should go home, text Liam and tell him about what a jerk Louis is. Maybe then their lives could get back to normal. But all Harry feels right now is rage, and with the alcohol in his system, it gives Harry the courage to stay in place.

Once Louis makes eye contact with him, he’s frozen.

“Hello Louis.” Harry smirks. “I think it’s time we have a little chat.”

 

\---

 

“What, are you stalking me now Styles?” Louis asks with a forced smile. He walks up to Harry so that he’s inches in front of him, as if to threaten him.

It’s pretty hilarious to Harry though, considering he’s inches shorter, but he’ll entertain the idea of it being a fair fight for a while.

“Hardly.” Harry sneers, ignoring the question. “Who’s your friend?”

“None of your business.” Louis responds shortly. He attempts to leave and bumps Harry’s shoulder, hard.

Harry whips around and grabs Louis by the arm, holding him in place.

“I think you made it my business when you started dating Liam.” Harry can feel his temperature rising with anger. “When I tell him about this, it’s gonna kill him.”

“Oh how sweet; his knight in shining armor to come save the day.” Louis responds sarcastically and pulls his arm out of Harry’s grasp. “You’re wasting your time, Harry.”

“I don’t think so.” Harry says in the meanest tone he can manage. What is this guy getting at?

Louis leans in even closer, so that he’s right up to Harry’s ear, “He’ll never want you.”

Harry knows that they’re just words. He knows that Louis is trying to get to him. But Harry is drunk and he’s not thinking clearly and it stings. The thought that Louis just may be right torments Harry.

“Shut up.” Harry says, taking a step back.

“You know it’s true. We’ve talked about you before. _Laughed_ about you. He thinks you’re ridiculous, Harry. “

“Shut up!” Harry repeats, louder. He doesn’t want to believe Louis, but all of his insecurities are being laid out right in front on him.

“Doesn’t that piss you off, Harry!?” Louis is almost shouting now and he puts a hand behind Harry’s head and pulls him in close. “The fact that you’re in love with him and he doesn’t even see it?!”

Harry feels like crying and before he knows it Louis’s lips are on his own, kissing him hard.

Harry isn’t sure why, but he kisses back. Maybe it’s because he’s drunk. Or maybe it’s because everything Louis said has completely crushed him and he’s looking for some weird form of comfort? Or maybe it’s because he’s still mad at Liam. Mad for crushing on someone else. Mad for not believing him when he said the guy was trouble. Mad for standing him up tonight.

But when Harry thinks about Liam, and his adorable smile and his perfect hair and beautiful eyes he can’t believe what’s happening. He rips himself away from Louis and stumbles backwards in a hurry to get away. He can’t believe what he’s just done and he immediately wishes he could turn back time and take it away, wishes he could stay hidden, before he ever confronted Louis.

Louis is laughing now and it takes all of Harry’s energy not to lean in and punch the guy.

“Well, well, Harry. Who knew you were such a good kisser?”

Harry is frozen. He doesn’t even know what to say or where to go from here. If Liam were to find out that he’d kissed Louis he would never speak to him again. He’s desperately trying to rack his brain and figure out what his next move should be.

“Looks like you won’t be saying anything to Liam about that other guy after all.” Louis chuckles.

Harry bursts out, “why are you doing this?! What do you want with us?”

“Does there have to be a motive for everything?” Louis smiles, “maybe I just like messing with people’s heads. Ever think of that?”

Once again Harry has no response. The events of the night has left him in shock. The fact that someone could be so manipulative for no reason is something that Harry’s never really had to deal with before and he doesn’t know what to do.

Louis gives him one last smirk, then turns around and leaves. Harry lets him go. He sits down on the curb to think. He pulls out his phone to see that Liam has sent him two more texts asking where he is and what he’s doing.

If only he knew.

\--

The next day Harry is awoken by the sound of knocking on his door. He slowly gets up from bed and checks the clock to see that its 7 in the morning. Harry’s head is pounding and he feels like shit. It’s been a while since he’s drank that much. He stumbles slowly to the door and opens it to find Liam standing in front of him, looking sullen and tired himself. Suddenly memories of the night before come rushing back to Harry and he wants to curl into a ball and die. He can’t see Liam right now, not with the guilt that’s weighing so heavily on him.

Harry opens the door wider, silently allowing Liam to enter and trudges back to his bed slowly. He hears Liam shut the door softly as he climbs back into bed.

“Rough night?” Liam asks and he takes a seat on the bed next Harry.

Harry nods and lays his head down on the pillow facing Liam. “Sorry I never texted you back, I left my phone here and when I got back it was too late.” Harry mentally slaps himself for the lie, but he can’t exactly tell Liam the truth.

“I know it’s early, but I really needed to talk to you.” Liam says quietly.

Harry notices that Liam seems more upset than usual. He knows that Louis stood him up, but he didn’t think Liam would take it this hard. He must really like the guy. Fucking great.

“Louis cheated on me.” Liam says blankly.

Harry sits up a little to look at Liam closer. Did he just hear that right?

“I went to see Louis last night. I was trying to be cute and bring him some soup since he said he was sick. On the way there I was driving through town and I saw him with another guy.”

Harry’s heart is beating really fast. Is this is a set up? Any second now is Liam gonna get mad and confront him and say he knows all about what happened?

“They were walking and holding hands,” Liam sighs. He looks like he’s about to cry. “Then he kissed him.” Liam looks at Harry, waiting for a response.

“Are you sure it was Louis?” Harry asks, trying to get some more information.

“Yes. I saw his purple jacket…. but I didn’t recognize the guy. He went into his house and then I just sped off. I didn’t want Louis to see my car.”

Harry can’t believe his luck. Liam was there, watching Louis just as he was. If he had stayed even a minute longer, he would have seen the entire conversation with Harry as well.

“Li, I am so sorry.” Harry scoots closer to Liam and puts an arm around his shoulders, giving him comfort. Liam takes the opportunity to lie down next to Harry and scoot in close. He isn’t crying but he’s breathing heavily and Harry can smell the shampoo in his hair, he’s so close. He feels terrible for Liam, but a small part of him is extremely happy. He finally got to see Louis’s true colors.

“Can I just sleep here for a little while?” Liam asks softy, his grasp on Harry tightening further.

Harry smiles, “of course” and pulls the covers up around the both of them. Liam has slept in Harry’s bed before, but never like this. They’ve never been this close.

The guilt that Harry feels is even more apparent now with Liam right next to him and Harry contemplates telling Liam everything. But looking at Liam in his arms prevents Harry from saying a word. He just wants to live in this moment for a little longer.

\--

The two stay like that for hours, finally waking again when it’s close to noon. Harry opens his eyes to see Liam already looking up at him. Liam pulls back a little but his hands remain around Harry.

“I should have listened to you,” he says quietly “about Louis. You were right all along. You’re always right.” Liam smiles and Harry can’t believe how beautiful he looks. In this moment Harry finally realizes how much Liam means to him. And now that Liam and Louis are over it can go back to being just the two of them.

“I’m sorry I was right.” Harry whispers. And he truly means it. All he wants is for Liam to be happy.

Maybe it’s the way Liam is breathing slowly, or maybe it’s how he’s looking at Harry, but there seems to be some tension in the air. Liam is so close and all Harry wants to do is kiss him. He can see Liam’s eyes flash to his lips for a moment and Harry almost leans in. But then his thoughts flash back to his kiss with Louis and Harry stops himself. This isn’t right. He can’t lie to his best friend like this.

Harry pulls away slowly, pretending to stretch and he thinks he sees a flicker of disappointment in Liam’s eyes.

“Do you wanna get some breakfast… or maybe lunch?” Harry stands, getting out of bed and walking towards his closet.

“Sure” Liam replies with a sigh, “let me just text my mom real quick and let her know where I am.”

As Liam turns away Harry begins to dress. He knows he has to tell Liam the truth. But not now.

Not today.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Harry's friendship is tested.

The following Monday at school Harry finds Louis walking the halls and pulls him discreetly into a nearby janitor’s closet.

Harry knows it isn’t gonna be easy reasoning with the guy but he has to try. Liam still doesn’t know about the events of Friday night and Harry is determined to tell him on his own terms. He knows if Louis gets to him first things could get ugly. Harry regrets not telling Liam over the weekend, but in the last two days things between the two of them had been so great, he couldn’t find the appropriate time.

“Listen, Louis…” Harry tries to say in the calmest voice he can manage, “I know we’ve had our differences…”

Louis smirks at the choice of words.

“But,” Harry continues, “I’m begging you… do not tell Liam about Friday. Please. Not yet.”

Harry wants to continue. To reason with Louis. But he’s interrupted by Louis’s laughter.

“You realize that Liam broke up with me right? He claims he saw me with Greg.”

So the mystery man has a name after all.

“But for some reason, I get the feeling you would have told him anyway.” When Louis says this, he pokes Harry lightly with his pointer finger. “So why in the hell would I ever do anything to help you? You’re lucky I haven’t told him yet.”

“Come on, Louis.” Harry sighs. “You’ve hurt him enough already. If you ever cared about him at all you would dig deep inside yourself, find some decency, and keep your mouth shut.”

Louis laughs again. “Oh really? Because now lying is more decent then telling the truth?”

“I’m gonna tell him!” Harry almost shouts. “But when he’s over what _you_ did to him. Not now.”

Louis hesitates. Harry hopes for a minute that he’s going to comply. But he should know by now that things with Louis aren’t so simple.

“I’ll do it.” He finally responds and Harry waits for the catch. “But I’m gonna need something in return.”

Harry sighs. He knew this was coming. “What? What do you want?”

“I don’t know…” Louis says teasingly, taking a step closer to Harry. He tucks a loose curl behind Harry’s ear and Harry flinches slightly. “I could think of a few things…”

“No!” Harry slaps Louis hand away. He’s completely sober now and he’s not gonna let himself fall for Louis’ act again. “Anything but that.”

Louis takes a step back. He looks angry. Harry knows he isn’t used to being rejected and it’s probably eating at him. “Let me think about it.”

Harry takes a breath as Louis pushes past him and out the door.

Harry’s knows it’s a long shot, but he’s hoping for the best.

 

\--

 

Harry has a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach throughout the entirety of the day, but he knows if he can just get through it, things will be okay. He knows waiting to tell Liam about Louis was stupid, he should have done it over the weekend when he’d had the chance, but it would just have to wait till after school. Screw Louis and their deal, or whatever it was they had decided. If he tells Liam everything, surely he would be forgiven.

But when Harry makes his way outside at the end of the day and catches Liam’s eye he knows it’s too late.

Harry has rarely seen Liam mad. Sure, the guy’s been upset. He’s even seen him cry. But the look on Liam’s face now is one that Harry could never have expected.

 _Fucking Louis._ Is the only thing that Harry can think. Maybe going to him was a bigger mistake than he realized.

“How could you do that to me?” Liam barely moves, but his words hurt enough and Harry rushes up to him.

“Liam, please, let me explain.” But Liam turns around, his back is to Harry’s now and he goes to open the door to his car. Harry rushes around to the driver side and slaps Liam’s hand away, preventing him from getting inside. “Liam…”

“No!” Liam yells, his brown eyes looking deeply into Harry’s green ones. “I don’t want to listen to anything you have to say.”

Harry stands, waiting for Liam to continue.

“How could you fucking kiss him, Harry?” Once again Harry is shocked. He never hears Liam swear. Harry thinks he can see a tear forming in Liam’s eye but before he has a chance to say anything he feels Liam’s hands pushing against his chest, pushing him away.

“Find another ride home.” Liam rushes into the car and slams the door shut hard. Harry watches and Liam drives off. Harry wants to run after him, but he knows it’s useless. When Liam decides on something, he’s the most stubborn person in the world.

Harry feels like crying. He should have known this was bound to happen. He tries not to freak out, surely Liam will have to listen to him eventually, and Harry decides the best course of action right now is to give him some time.

Harry is livid, and runs back inside the school. He just hopes Louis is still around somewhere.

After searching the grounds he eventually spots Louis (and his bright green pants) walking slowly across the field. Harry races down the hill as fast as he can and when he gets close to Louis he doesn’t slow down. Instead he slams right into him, pushing him hard.

“You fucking asshole!” Harry screams, holding onto Louis’s arms and spinning him around.

“Get off!” Louis shouts back and rips himself from Harry’s grasp. “You didn’t really think I wouldn’t tell him did you? My God, you’re both so _easy_.”

Louis turns around in an attempt to ignore Harry completely, but Harry runs in front of him, stopping him in place.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Why are you doing this?”

Louis laughs. “Why am _I_ doing this? You brought this on yourself, _Harold_.”

“What are you talking about?” Harry wants to scream, he’s so frustrated and upset. “What did we ever do to you?”

“How many times do I have to tell you? You didn’t have to do anything to me.” Louis’s voice is rising now. “You were just another pawn in my game! I never cared about Liam. But the first day we met in the parking lot I saw how much you cared about him and I knew it would be worth it to toy with you. The rest you basically did yourself.”

Harry chooses to ignore his speech and continues to try to get answers.

“What about our deal?” Harry is reaching now.

“Did you really think I wanted or needed anything from you?” Louis pokes a finger into Harry’s chest. “I entertained the idea of keeping quiet because it was fun watching you squirm, but I always planned on telling Liam. You’re the idiot that didn’t get to him first.” Louis takes a step closer to Harry to talk softer. “Plus, you needed to learn a lesson. I can’t be controlled. And I certainly won’t be rejected. And considering my relationship with Liam was already destroyed I thought it might be fun to destroy yours too. And it looks like I succeeded.”

Harry realizes just how twisted this guy really is and he almost feels sorry for him. He has no friends, no one that really cares about him and he continues to destroy everything around him. Harry doesn’t know why, and he doesn’t care. He just knows he has to get away.  

Harry backs up and speaks softly now. “I feel sorry for you.”

He can see the confusion on Louis’s face before he rolls his eyes and continues walking.

“Because someday Liam will forgive me. But you? You have no one. You’ve built this hole for yourself and there’s no getting out.” Harry swears he can see Louis flinch a little at his words. “You need help.”

Harry is done. He’s dealing with Louis and his antics and he wants nothing to do with him anymore. He has other more pressing things to think about.

He runs back up the hill in the direction he came, determined to get home as quick as he can so he can figure out what to do next. All he knows is that his main goal right now is getting Liam back.

He doesn’t know how he’s gonna manage it but he will. If it’s the last thing he does.

 

\--

 

He’s called Liam exactly ten times. And each time he’s gone directly to voicemail. He hasn’t left one message. Mainly because he’s not sure what to say over a machine. Sure he could try to explain but he probably wouldn’t make any sense. And Liam would probably just end up deleting the messages anyway.

Harry had wanted to talk to him in person. Unfortunately, Liam’s mom hadn’t even let him inside earlier when he’d stopped by Liam’s house. She was a good mom, just trying to protect her son, but it frustrated the hell out of Harry.

Harry had told himself immediately after his conversation with Liam in the parking lot that he would give him space, but it was impossible. Harry never realized how much of his day was spent with Liam, whether it be actually hanging out together, or texting, or talking online. Sitting at home alone tonight felt foreign and Harry couldn’t stand it. Liam was the person he went to about everything. But he had no one to go to about this. The thought made Harry wonder how Liam was coping and his heart went out to him. If only the guy would listen to what he had to say!  

Harry spends the next ten minutes trying to distract himself. He flips through the tv channels; nothing looks interesting. He goes through the pantry; he’s not hungry. Finally he goes into his parents office and pulls a blank sheet of paper from the printer and a pen off his mom’s desk. He goes back into the living room and sits. He decides he’s gonna write Liam a letter.

It’s much easier writing what he wants to say. Of course, there’s still the thought that Liam may not read this either, but it feels good to get everything out on paper. Harry tries hard not to think about the fact that Liam may never forgive him for this.

The next morning at school Harry slips the note in Liam’s locker. He knows Liam’s locker combo by heart and places the letter directly in front of Liam’s books where he knows he will see it. He shuts the locker door and heads off to class.

Little does he know that Louis sees everything.

 

\--

 

After a few days Harry starts to panic. He’s given Liam space, not calling or texting… but secretly hoping that Liam will come to him at any moment and tell him he got the letter. But this doesn’t happen and Harry knows he’s gonna have to confront Liam in person. He really doesn’t want to, he’s afraid to get brushed off, but he doesn’t have a choice. Not speaking to Liam is just not an option for him.

On Friday, Harry decides to take his chance. After school, he follows Liam out to the parking lot and rushes up to him right before he reaches his car. Harry grabs him by the arm gently and turns him around.

“Liam, please talk to me.”

Liam sighs deeply, but he appears calm as he turns to face Harry. Harry can see the hurt still in his eyes, but he’s not shouting or running away and Harry takes this as a good sign.

“Please say you read the letter.” Is all that Harry can manage to get out.

He sees the solemn look on Liam’s face turn to confusion.

“What letter?”

Harry feels a bit of unease. How could he not have seen it?

“I wrote you a letter, explaining… everything. I need you to read it, please.” Harry knows he probably sounds pathetic, begging like this, but nothing is more important to him right now.

“Harry, there was no letter. Maybe you put it in the wrong locker.”

Harry releases Liam’s wrist (he’s surprised that Liam let him hold on so long) and moves it to his shoulder, tightening his grip. “I know which locker is yours Liam. There’s no way you could have missed it.”

“Well then I guess someone stole it.” Liam says sarcastically and turns away from Harry, attempting to get into his car.

It’s a nothing comment from Liam, one that Harry should have just brushed off, but it makes Harry think. Who would want to steal his letter? Harry could think of one person.

“Did you ever give Louis your locker combination?” Harry blurts out as Liam opens the front door of his car. The question stops Liam in place, who looks up to Harry, his face unreadable. He doesn’t say anything, which answers Harry question.

“It was him. He took it. I know it.”

Liam shakes his head. “Harry, you’re paranoid.”

“I’m not! Trust me, Liam, he’s crazy. He manipulated this entire situation. Just give me two minutes to explain things to you, please!”

Liam pauses for a moment and Harry thinks he might just have a chance. But the moment is gone when Liam gets into his car and slams the door.

Harry sighs as Liam drives off, leaving him alone in the parking lot once again.

Harry’s initial reaction is to find Louis and confront him about the letter, but he knows that it’s a lost cause. Perhaps ignoring Louis will make all of this go away faster. And he had felt some progress with Liam. At least this time there was no shouting and Liam had actually let him speak for a few minutes.

Harry decides hes going to keep working on Liam, little by little. He kows eventually Liam will give in and listen to him.

 

\--

As Liam drove home his mind was racing. He desperately wanted to get his hands on that letter, even if he would never admit that to Harry. He also wondered if there was any truth to what Harry had said about Louis stealing it.

There was only one way to find out.

Liam glanced in his rear view mirror to make sure there were no cars around and then he slowed and did a u-turn.

He was heading in the direction of Louis’s house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam discovers the truth.

Liam stands outside Louis’s door, waiting impatiently for him to answer. He doesn’t necessarily want to be here right now, but he knows it’s something he has to do. If there’s any truth to what Harry is saying Liam will find out about it.

It feels much longer, but after a minute Louis opens the door. The look on his face tells Liam he isn’t happy to see him. Liam thinks Louis will slam the door in his face but he tentatively backs up and initiates for Liam to come inside.

“What do you want now, Payne? Come to take me back?” Louis is being sarcastic, but Liam decides to use the question to advantage.

“What if I said yes?” Liam tests the waters and Louis stops dead in his tracks. He turns around to face Liam, a skeptical expression plastered on his face.

“I’d have to wonder if you were crazy… I kissed your best friend.” Louis says flatly.

Liam tries not to flinch but the words still sting a little. Liam is no actor, but he’s trying hard to convince Louis that he’s being sincere.

“I know.” Liam says, taking a step closer to Louis. “But I really like you. Life was so boring before you got here, it was a rush being with you. I want to start over again.”

Liam reaches a hand out and grabs hold of Louis’s collar, trying his best to be as flirtatious as he can manage.

Louis seems to take the bait and he puts a hand over Liam’s rubbing it softy. It’s obvious to Liam now that Louis craves any sort of attention he can get.

“Okay… do you wanna go out?” Louis asks?

Liam had been hoping they could stay inside, but he doesn’t want to appear suspicious so he nods his head slightly.

“Let me just go change really quick and then we’ll go.” Louis smiles at Liam briefly before turning around and running upstairs to change.

Liam knows it’s a long shot but he takes the opportunity to scour what he can of Louis’s house. It has to be here somewhere.

Liam’s heart begins to race when he spots Louis’s backpack sitting on the floor near the couch. He rushes over and unzips the front pocket. It’s empty. He makes his way to the large zipper and undoes it. He removes a few books and notebooks until he’s sure it’s not there. Liam sighs heavily and stands to get up. Just as he’s about to lose hope he spots it.

A small white envelope with the words “Liam” written on the front sits on the corner of Louis’s lamp side table. He rushes over to it and snatches it up quickly, stuffing it in his pocket. Liam can’t believe he actually found it so quickly, but he’s thankful he doesn’t have to keep up this façade with Louis any longer. Just as he hears rustling upstairs Liam races out the door. So Louis really did steal his letter.

Damn Harry Styles for always being right.

 

 

 

\--

Harry’s taking a nap when he hears a light knocking on his bedroom door. He sits up in an instant, immediately realizing that it’s Liam. His parents would never let anyone else inside without first asking him.

Harry gets up lazily and stumbles over to the door. He barely gets it open before Liam comes storming in.

Harry is still tired, but he knows he’s not imagining things when he sees what Liam is holding in his hand; it’s the letter that he had written, the one that was stolen.

“Liam. what are you…” Harry begins to say, but his cut off mid-sentence.

“You were right. Louis totally took the letter.” Liam’s pacing now, he looks practically livid.

Harry is extremely confused and needs answers. “What are you talking about? How did you find it?”

Liam pauses for a second to face Harry. “After our talk outside today I felt really terrible. I was still mad at you, of course, but I know you would never intentionally lie to me. And what you were saying about Louis stealing the letter and being manipulative really dug itself into my head. I didn’t want to believe you, but who else would care enough to take it?”

Harry listens quietly, taking a few steps backward and sitting slowly on the bed to wait for Liam to continue.

“So after school I went to his house. I wanted to convince him that I was still interested.”

Harry looks down, a little disappointed. Even if it was an act it was still hard to think about.

Liam notices Harry’s discomfort. “Don’t worry, nothing happened. I was just planning to hang out there for a few hours and maybe look around his house a bit if I had the chance. I knew it was a long shot and I didn’t think I would really find anything, but I hoped I would. I figured at the very least maybe if he thought I was into him and was still mad at you he would tell me about taking the letter. Which was also probably a long shot, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

Harry nods his head slightly. He’s not sure exactly where Liam is going with this, but a huge wave of relief comes over him. Liam realizing he was telling the truth all along is enough for him. It gives him hope they can reconcile their friendship.

“Luckily when he went upstairs to change it I found it, just sitting on his table. It was like a miracle.”

“So what’d you tell him?” Harry asks.

“I didn’t tell him anything, I just ran out of there and came strait here! I don’t even care if he realizes it’s gone, I’m so pissed off right now.”

“Okay,” Harry laughs and stands to grab Liam by the shoulders. “It’s okay. He can’t do anything worse to us. As long as we both agree to cut him out.”

“Of course.” Liam sighs, looking deep into Harry. He looks like he’s about to say something, but he takes a breath. His next words come out slowly, “I’m so sorry Harry.”

Liam should be apologizing, but Harry can’t help but feel a bit of sadness. Liam clearly feels guilty about everything and it hurts Harry to see him in pain.

“Don’t be sorry, Liam. He tricked you. You liked him and he took advantage of you, it's okay.”

“It’s not! I read the letter. I know everything now. I should have given you a chance to explain things.” Liam looks at Harry again, staring right into him. Harry feels the sudden urge to lean in and kiss him, but he instead he pulls away and retreats back to the bed. He doesn’t want to fuck anything up now, not when Liam is calling a truce.

“Liam, really. It’s fine. Can we just go back to how things were?”

Liam sighs then walks slowly over to Harry. He stops when he’s standing directly in front of him. Harry cant help but notice just how close Liam is and his legs feel trapped between the older boy’s.

“I don’t want to.” Liam barely whispers and Harry can hear the shakiness in his voice. What is happening right now?

Before he has time to formulate an answer Liam is leaning down towards him. Harry feels Liam’s hands gently brush the bottom of his chin and his head is lifted to meet Liam’s. Harry closes his eyes as Liam leans in to kiss him. Harry is too stunned to even think about what is going on and barely manages to kiss Liam back. The kiss is way too short, and all Harry wants to do is keep going, but Liam pulls away to speak again.

“Did you mean what you said? In the letter? About me being the most important person to you?” Liam still has his hand on Harry’s face.

“Yes. Of course.” Harry barely whispers.

Liam smiles, then leans into Harry for another quick kiss.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for while now.”

“You have?” Harry asks as Liam sits next to him on the bed. “But I thought you were mad at me?”

“I was.” Liam laughs lightly. “But after I heard about you and Louis, I realized the reason I was upset was because of _you_ , not him. I was upset because I thought you betrayed me.” Liam looks down briefly. “And I didn’t want you kissing anyone else.”

Harry intertwines his fingers with Liam’s, causing Liam to look up and Harry leans in close to him again. “I don’t want to kiss anyone else.”

This time Harry takes the initiative and wraps his left hand (the one that isn’t already occupied holding Liam’s) and wraps it around the back of Liam’s neck, pulling him in for a third time. This time the kiss is anything but timid as Harry presses his lips onto Liam’s hard.

Harry can feel Liam breathing hard against him and he takes this as a good sign. He pushes his tongue lightly against Liam’s bottom lip, forcing Liam to open his mouth wider. A small noise escapes Harry’s own mouth when he feels the warm and soft press of Liam’s tongue against his. Harry can feel Liam’s free hand move to his back, pushing Harry into him further, needing to get closer.

Harry leans into him, removing his hand from Liam’s grip to brace himself against the bed as he falls on top of Liam.

Harry feels like time is moving in slow motion as he kisses him, trying to remember every second. Harry’s wanted to do this for so long and it’s finally happening.

Harry shifts a little so that he’s straddling Liam. He sits up and slowly removes his shirt, making sure not to break eye contact with him. He can see Liam breathing heavily beneath him, a tiny bit of what seems to be nervousness on his face but he doesn’t object so Harry takes it as his cue to keep going. He can see Liam’s eyes flash quickly to scan his body. It’s not like the boy hasn’t seen him naked before, but he gets that this time it’s very different. Harry leans back down to Liam slowly, kissing his lips softly first then moving his mouth to Liam’s neck. Liam moans lightly at this, which makes Harry shiver.

“Why didn’t we do this before?” Liam breaths hard, his hands moving to the small of Harry’s lower back, fingertips pressing into his skin.

“Because I was a big scaredy-cat?” Harry laughs lightly at Liam’s neck, making his way across to his birthmark, where he sucks lightly.

Liam’s hands move up Harry’s back and grabs at his curls where Liam tugs Harry’s face up to look at his. “You aren’t scared now, are you?” He asks seriously, a hint of sexual desire in his voice.

Harry stares deep into Liam’s brown eyes, pausing for a moment. He leans up to Liam’s ear and whispers softly, “no.” And he’s not.

Harry kisses his way back down Liam’s neck, stopping right when he reaches Liam’s collar bone. His shirt is in the way.

Harry sits up and pulls Liam by the shoulders up with him, grabbing at his shirt and ripping it off over his head roughly. Things are getting really heated now and Harry desperately wants to be closer to Liam.

Liam doesn’t resist and once his shirt is on the floor he grabs Harry by the waist as he scoots back lightly on the bed. He pulls Harry onto his lap roughly as he reaches a hand behind him to steady him. Harry feels himself being pulled into another deep kiss and Liam’s hands are back in his hair. Liam always said he loved Harry’s hair. _I guess he meant it._ Harry thinks to himself. He loves how it feels.

Suddenly Harry feels himself being lifted slightly as Liam shifts their bodies and throws Harry down on the bed, pinning him underneath him. Harry has never seen Liam this aggressive, but he’s not complaining.

Liam’s fingers are warm against his chest and Harry flinches slightly when he feels Liam’s hands trailing slowly down to his pants. They rest on his zipper briefly before Liam slowly unzips them, then undoes the button.

Liam makes eye contract with Harry briefly, a look in his eyes silently asking Harry if he should continue. Harry nods slightly, instinctively biting his lower lip. Liam smiles softy and brushes his lips against Harry’s very slowly.

“I love you, Harry.”

Liam says this quietly and for what feels like the tenth time tonight, Harry is shocked. Harry didn’t wake up this morning expecting his day to end like this, but again, he’s not complaining.

Before he knows it, his pants and boxers are off, and Liam’s quickly follow.

Harry can’t believe this is _finally_ happening. Part of him wishes he could stop time so he could remember this moment forever. Harry thinks of Louis and laughs. He guesses he should be thanking him right about now. If it weren’t for him, maybe Liam never would have realized how he really felt.

Harry looks at Liam, grabbing his face in his hands, stopping the moment for just a second. “I love you too.” Harry says just as softly and he reaches a hand up to brush a hair out of Liam’s face. The two smile at each other once again before resuming.

In this moment he couldn’t be happier.

\--

Louis paces his flat, wishing more than anything he knew where fucking Harry Styles lived.

If he did, he would march right on over there and kill him.

He knows all of this is the stupid kids fault. He convinced Liam not to trust to him. Convinced him that he stole his stupid letter, and got Liam to come over and humiliate him. Now the two of them are probably together, laughing at Louis’s foolishness.

Louis is _never_ humiliated. Just the thought of being tricked and manipulated is enough to send him over the edge.

He doesn’t know what his plan at getting the two back is exactly, but he knows he needs to come up with something good.

Like they say, revenge is a dish best served cold.


	5. Chapter 5 - Final Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis gets his revenge? Will everyone survive in the end?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end sucks. I'm sorry.

Harry is sure he’s dreaming when he wakes to find a sleeping Liam merely inches from his face.

He puts a hand up to his eyes and rubs gently, trying to wake himself up a little. The sun is barely peeking through the window and it feels nice and warm on his bare shoulder.

Harry can’t believe where he is. He can’t believe that last night had actually happened.

He wishes he could rewind time and do it all over again. Either that, or stay here in this moment forever. He knows he’s being cheesy, but he can’t help but smile as he watches Liam sleep. The older boys hair is messy and in his face, hiding one eye, and Harry finds himself scanning the boys bare back, the only part of him not covered by the sheets of Harry’s bed.

Harry stops himself from reaching out and touching him. He knows he’s allowed to, but he doesn’t want to wake Liam. Maybe if he lets him sleep the moment with last longer.

The night before was the first time for both of them. Things were a little awkward and clumsy, but it didn’t matter, in Harry’s eyes it was perfect. He wondered how Liam felt about everything but of course he could never ask.

Harry’s thoughts are interrupted when he hears Liam rustling around a little. His eyes are closed, but he moves his mouth to speak softly, “you know, it’s impolite to stare.”

Harry laughs, looking away from Liam and trying not to blush. So he’s been caught. Oops.

Liam moans lightly and reaches a hand over towards Harry where he grabs him by the waist and  pulls him closer.

“Go back to sleep!” Liam whines as he tucks his face gently into Harry’s neck, kissing him tentatively.

“But it’s almost noon.” Harry whispers softly into Liam’s ear. He doesn’t want to get up either, but he knows if he stays in bed any longer his parents may come check on him. And finding a naked Liam in his bed next to him would probably be difficult to explain.

“Fine.” Liam breathes deeply and pushes himself off of Harry, bending to the floor slowly and grabbing some of his clothes off the floor.

“Nooo.” Harry says, leaning over towards Liam and grabbing his hands. “I never said you were allowed to get dressed.”

Liam laughs and lets the clothes fall back to the floor. Then he roughly reaches around Harry and pins him back down on the bed, kissing him fiercely.

 _Oh, what the hell_? Harry thinks to himself. The door is locked.

Harry sinks into the kiss and reaches his hands around, gripping Liam’s lower back tightly against his own body.

Harry takes it back. He wants to stay in _this_ moment forever.

\--

“So… are you like… my boyfriend now?”

It’s hours later and Liam is _finally_ getting dressed. He’s sitting on the bed and his back is turned towards Harry.

Harry isn’t sure how to respond. He can hear a tone of sarcasm in Liam’s voice, but he knows that he is being sincere.

“I don’t know…” Harry begins, and Liam turns to face him as he finishes dressing by throwing his shirt back over his head. “Do you want me to be?”

Liam smiles that adorable, precious smile of his and walks slowly over to Harry so that he’s standing right in front of him. He places both hands on the side of Harry’s face and pulls him in for a soft kiss.

“What do you think?”

His response says everything and now Harry too is grinning from ear to ear as he nervously messes with his hair.  

“I better check in with my parents so they know I’m alive. They’ve been texting all morning. But, maybe later we could hang out, yeah?” Liam pulls away to grab the rest of his things.

Harry nods and Liam kisses him one more time before opening Harry’s bedroom door.

“You know,” Harry says right before Liam exits, “I’ve had a crush on you for years.”

Harry knows it’s a weird time to mention this, but he feels like he has to say it.

“You did?” Liam asks, genuinely surprised. Once again Harry nods in response. “Cool.” Liam smiles softly and bounds down the stairs.

 _Cool_? That’s all he has to say?

Liam gets to the bottom and reaches the front door, turning the handle slowly. Before he’s outside he turns to look up at Harry.

“I did too.”

\--

Harry can’t stop smiling.

Not since two nights ago when Liam came to see him. It’s like a permanent grin plastered on his face. Which is odd for Harry… especially lately. He’s _never_ this happy. But walking down the hall, side by side, with his… boyfriend (it still sounds so weird to say the word) Harry knows nothing can ruin his day.

He’s almost to his locker when he feels Liam’s hands brush lightly over his own and squeeze.

“What are you doing?” Harry asks, blushing, but he doesn’t pull his hand away.

“Holding hands with my boyfriend?” Liam asks, whose smile is almost as big as Harry’s.

“But everyone will see.” Harry stops once he’s in front of his locker.

“So?” Liam pushes him lightly against the wall and leans in for a quick kiss. “Let them see.”

Harry laughs and pushes him away softly. Gay or not, he’s still uncomfortable with PDA. Luckily, no one is watching.

Except for Louis.

Louis, who is _seething_. Just waiting for his moment to attack. How dare they flaunt their happiness in his face.  Louis doesn’t even like Liam, but if he can’t have him no one can. Especially not a prick like Harry Styles.

\--

 

“Check it out!” Harry announces loudly as he makes his way over to Liam’s car after school. He holds out a piece of paper, and Liam can see that it’s his makeup exam from weeks prior.

Liam grabs the test from Harry’s hand and his eyes focus at the letter on the top. “A+? Wow. My guy is smart!”

Harry blushes at the words. _His_ guy?

“Good job, Haz.” Liam smiles reaching a hand forward and tugging Harry by the shirt into him.

Harry feels Liam’s arms wrap tightly around his neck and hold him there in hug. Liam feels warm in arms and Harry can’t help but smile. He knows he’ll never get used to this.

Once Liam pulls away he grabs Harry’s bag from him and carries it with him to the car.

Who knew Liam was so chivalrous?

“Guess I know who will be tutoring me in maths from now on!” Liam jokes.

“Don’t know how much help I will be.” Harry responds cheekily.

“Why? Cuz we’re graduating soon?” Liam asks as he opens the back door to his car and throws their things lightly inside.

“No” Harry begins… “Because we all know late nights in your room will lead to other, more important matters.”

Liam stops in his tracks and looks at Liam from across the parking lot, his eyebrows raised. Before he can formulate a response, someone answers for him.

“Sounds like fun, am I invited?”

Harry feels sick to his stomach before he even turns to look at who is speaking. He would know that high pitched voice anywhere. His eyes connect with Liam’s briefly before they both turn their heads to face Louis.

“Actually, no.” Harry says in as mean a voice as he can muster. He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy to get Louis out of their lives. But what could he possibly want from them now?

“Oh… well that’s too bad.” Louis makes a sour face, his sarcasm clearly showing. He takes a few steps closer to Liam and Harry, a pure look of hatred on his face.

“Louis, we don’t want any trouble, okay.” Liam says. Of course it’s up to him to keep things as calm as possibly. All Harry wants to do is ring his neck.

Louis laughs loudly. A few students who are standing outside have now turned their focus towards the trio.

“Well, Liam, maybe you should have thought of that before you manipulated me.”

“Manipulated you?” Harry bursts out. He can see Liam wince but he doesn’t care. He refuses to let Louis lie in front of everyone. “You’re the one manipulating us! You toyed with us, cheated on him, turned him against me, and then stole from him!”

Harry finds his feet dragging him closer to Louis so that he’s standing right in front of him.

“Harry, come on.” Liam pleads, rushing up behind the younger boy and grabbing him by the arm. “It’s not worth it, let’s just go.”

Liam tries to pull Harry away but Louis intervenes and slaps Liam’s hand away.

“Not worth it, huh?”

Liam backs off, refusing to fight, but Harry is livid now. Before he knows what’s happening his hand is making a fist and he’s swinging at Louis’s face.

“Don’t touch him!” Harry screams as his hand collides with Louis’s jaw hard.  Harry wants to cry out in pain, it hurts so badly, but he refuses to let Louis see and instead stumbles back slightly.

“Harry!” Liam yells again, running in front of him to protect him from Louis, who has now straitened up and is lunging for Harry.

“You little shit!” Louis yells and with as much force as he can muster shoves Liam out of the way. Liam is taken off guard and thrown backwards, landing on the ground roughly. It’s like a dream as he sees Louis push Harry down and crouches over him, punching him hard.

“Stop!” Liam yells out. A larger crowd has now formed, but no one is doing anything to help. Liam isn’t a fighter but he can’t allow his boyfriend to be beaten right in front of him.

He reaches Harry and Louis and somehow manages to pry them apart from each other.

“Why are you doing this!?” Liam screams, pushing Louis away and crouching over Harry, who is now a little bruised and bleeding from his nose.

“Why?” Louis roars. “Because you two made a fool out of me!”

“You’re insane!” Harry yells from the ground. He fully expects Louis to lunge after him again, but the word must have triggered something inside of Louis and he is frozen in place.

“I. am. not. insane.” Louis’s words come out slowly, and Harry can see the anger seething out of him.

“Come on, let’s go.” Liam says to Harry and Harry only. But Harry’s attention is still focused on Louis. “Let’s go!” Liam yells louder and pulls Harry up from his feet. The two rush over to Liam’s car and get inside. As Liam starts the car they can see Louis run off in the opposite direction.

“You did this to yourself!” Harry yells at him, and Liam speeds away.

\--

Liam is shaking as he pulls up to a red light. It’s only been a few minutes and he’s still in shock over what just happened. He knew that Louis was a little out of it, but the look in his eyes was extremely scary. And the fact that he could beat Harry up like that, so ferociously, worried him. Okay, so Harry did throw the first punch, but he’d been provoked.

“Are you okay?” Liam asked as he looked over at his boyfriend.

Harry was holding one of Liam’s shirts (thankfully one he didn’t like that much) to his face. It was the only thing they could find in the car and it helped stopped the bleeding.

“I’ll be okay.” Harry could barely mutter. His face hurt all over and he was still raging. Of course he was thankful that Liam’s sensibility had gotten them out of there, but part of him had wanted to stay behind and fight. He knew it wasn’t the right way to go about things, but he was so fed up with Louis at this point and there was no reasoning with the guy. He wasn’t exactly sure where they would go from here. Surely there was something wrong with Louis and he wasn’t just going to give up on tormenting them. Especially not after this.

“Let’s just get you home, and then… I don’t know. Maybe we can talk to our parents about this.”

Harry sighs. It’s not an option that sounds very appealing but he isn’t sure what else to do.

He feels Liam’s hand brushing his hair behind one of his ears, caressing him gently as they wait for the light to turn back to green.

Just as the light is beginning to change Harry feels himself being jolted forward, Liam’s hand ripping harshly away from his hair. At first Harry is confused, but then realizes they’ve just been rear ended.

“What the fuck?” Harry screams out, turning around quickly. His face turns from confusion to horror when he realizes that Louis is sitting in the driver’s seat of the car. The look on his face is a clear indicator that the previous action was intended.

“Go, go, go!” Harry screams and Liam slams a foot on the pedal. The two speed off and Liam turns to Harry.

“What’s going on?!” He yells, trying to keep his attention split between Harry and the road in front of him.

“It’s Louis!” Is all that Harry manages to get out before he feels the car being slammed again.

“He’s gonna kill us!” Liam screams, attempting to speed up, but the road is turning windy and he’s starting to loose control of the vehicle.

“Look out!” Are the last words out of Harry’s mouth that night. The next few seconds seem to happen in slow motion as Liam and Harry are hit a third and final time. This time, the car is slammed from the side and Liam’s attempts to control his car are thwarted as the tires slide roughly against the pavement and off the road. Harry feels himself being thrown inside the vehicle as the car flips and rolls off the side of the road into a nearby tree. He thinks he can feel Liam’s hand on his shoulder for a split second. Then, everything is black.

\--

 

When Harry opens his eyes he discovers that he’s not in his bed. In fact, he’s not in any bed he’s slept in before. This one is uncomfortable. And small. And the sheets are blaringly white.

Other than that, the first thing Harry thinks is that he’s thirsty.

When his focus is regained he can see that he’s in a hospital. Thoughts of the events before enter his brain and he finds himself being alerted awake.

His eyes focus to the foot of his bed where his mom is slumped in a chair, clearly asleep.

“Mom.” Harry manages to get out softly, and his mom is standing in an instant.

“Harry!” She rushes over to her son and throws her arms around him tightly. “Thank God, you’re awake!”

“Liam.” Is all that Harry can manage to say. He’s of course thankful that his mom is there but there’s only one person he really wants to see.

His mom pulls away from him slowly. It wasn’t exactly a question but she seems to ignore him anyway. She stands slowly and strokes a hand lightly on the side of his face.

“I’m gonna go grab your father honey, I’ll be right back!” She rushes out of the room and Harry is left in silence.

Harry immediately looks to the side, searching for his phone. He sights when he realizes that it's not there, but he had to try. He hurts way too much to move but he has to figure out whats going on with Liam. Harry doesn’t know what he would do with himself if Liam weren’t okay.

A few minutes later his parents rush back in, a doctor behind them. As Harry is being checked he once again tries asking about Liam, but his questions are once again ignored. Harry lays back in bed, completely unresponsive to any questions that his parents are asking. He knows what no answers mean. Liam must not be okay. A sick feeling rises in Harry’s stomach and he closes his eyes again. He doesn’t want to think about what any of this means right now. He can’t bear it.

\--

Liam is in a coma.

Harry discovers this later in the day when he pressures his parents once again for answers and they finally crack. Harry isn’t sure how he’s supposed to feel about this. Part of him is relieved, Liam is not dead, but with each minute that Liam doesn’t wake up, the bigger the chance he never will. Harry is scared for Liam and his family and he wants to burst into tears, but he stops himself from feeling any sort of sadness. _It’s gonna be okay_. He repeats to himself over and over again.

He wants to see him, but his parents refuse. They claim Harry needs his rest. He’s been badly bruised, a few ribs broken. They assure him that Liam will be there when Harry feels better.

Harry’s thoughts finally move to Louis. He can feel the anger rising in his chest again. If he survived this and Liam didn’t… Harry doesn’t know what he’ll do.

He pushes the thought away and tries to get some rest. The sooner he gets better the sooner he can see Liam. He knows there’s nothing he can do for him, but it’s been said that talking to coma patients sometimes help and Harry knows he has to try.

Once Harry wakes again there’s a police officer waiting to speak to him about Louis. Harry gives full details of the event and the officer informs him that Louis is in custody. There isn’t a lot of information that they can give Harry right now, but he knows once Liam wakes up and backs up the story things will be okay. Louis wont be getting away with it this time.

\--

Liam’s hands are cold.

It’s a strange thing to think but it’s Harry’s first thought. He’s finally allowed to visit Liam and  he’s surprised at how good Liam actually looks. On the surface nothing appears to be wrong with him. Harry thinks back to their first night spent together and thinks about how he woke up to a sleeping Liam. He looks the same lying here now. Save the fact that he has tubes sticking out of his arms and he’s hooked up to a machine.

Harry grabs his hand tightly and starts singing.

_If one day you wake up and find that you’re missing me…_

Harry allows himself to sing through the chorus. “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” is one of his favorite songs. And even though he is completely tone deaf, he sings it anyway. Liam always liked his voice and the two would sing it together. It was kind of their song of sorts.

Harry hadn’t planned to sing. He had planned to come in and plead with God, or Liam, or whoever was listening. He wanted to say everything that his heart was feeling and beg Liam to wake up. But being here now he couldn’t find the words.

_So I’m not moving…. I’m not moving._

Harry finishes the chorus and tears start forming in his eyes. He’s amazed at how well the lyrics apply to this moment. What if Liam never wakes up? Harry doesn’t know how he can go on. How can he live in a place where Liam doesn’t? Harry briefly lets go of Liam’s hand to wipe the tears away from his eyes.

When he’s finally regained his composure and his eyes are somewhat dry he looks down at Liam’s face. His heart jumps for a second when he thinks he sees a flicker of movement behind Liam’s eyelids. Harry leans in closer to Liam’s face and Liam opens his eyes briefly. It’s quick, but it’s real.

“Liam?!” Harry says a bit louder. Nothing.

“Liam, please wake up.” Harry puts his hands on the side of Liam’s face, moving his head slowly. “Please…. I love you!” Harry says louder. Liam’s eyes open again and Harry can see the confusion in his eyes.

Tears well up in Harry’s eyes again, but this time, its out of happiness. Liam is slowly waking up, and Harry realizes that he is gonna be okay. A huge wave of relief sweeps over Harry’s body.

 

\--

“Congratulations to the class of 2012!”

The valedictorian closes the ceremony and the music begins to play.

Harry and Liam walk hand in hand down the aisle, past all their friends and family, waving as they go. They’ve made it. The year is finally over.

 _And what a year it’s been_. Harry thinks to himself as he looks over Liam. Perfectly healthy, perfectly happy Liam. The older boy smiles at him widely, his big brown eyes scrunching up on his face the way that they do.

The ceremony continues and Liam and Harry make the rounds, taking photos and talking to friends and family. It’s only after a few hours that they are finally able to leave the ceremony. For the last time at this school they gather into Liam’s new car. A graduation/birthday gift he had received early.

“I cant believe we’ve graduated.” Liam says quietly as he sits in the driver seat, his fingers drumming slowly over the steering wheel.

“I know, it’s crazy isn’t it?” Harry responds, sighing deeply. He was never big on school, but now that it’s finally over it feels strange. “At least we’ll be together next year too.”

Liam nods. The two had always planned on going to school together after graduation but Liam never imagined he’d actually be dating Harry at the time. It all felt a little surreal but Liam was extremely thankful that he had lived to see it.

“Who would have thought we’d end up here?” Liam asked quietly, starting the car.

“I’d hoped we would.” Harry responds, smirking at Liam flirtatiously. Liam turns to face Harry and smiles back at him. Then he leans in and kisses Harry softly on the lips.

They’ve done it many times before, but whenever it happens it still gives Harry butterflies.  He sighs internally as Liam pulls away.

Harry can tell there is something on his mind. “What?” He asks, prodding Liam with his gaze. He doesn’t even have to literally ask ‘what’s wrong’, Liam can read him so easily.

“Did you hear them say his name today?” Liam asks quietly, his focus aimed at the ground.

Harry sits back in his seat. Him? Meaning Louis. “Yeah.” He responds. Just the thought of Louis makes Harry’s blood boil, but he tries to keep his composure.

“Do you think they will ever let him out?”

Harry wonders the same thing. After the accident Louis was “evaluated” and it was determined that he was technically “insane”.  Apparently Louis had had a history with this. He had been accused of both stalking and assaulting two former classmates, but with insufficient evidence for both cases nothing had been done. After Liam’s statement and the evidence compiled from other students at the school, he had been admitted to a mental institution. Harry and Liam were promised that they were safe, but Harry couldn’t help feel a little worried.

“I hope not. But if he ever does, we’ll be far, far, away.” Harry reaches a hand out and grabs Liam’s wrist, squeezing it hard for comfort.

“You’re right.” Liam says a bit more cheerfully. “The guy was twisted… but it’s in the past. So let’s agree never to speak of him again.”

“You have a deal.” Harry laughs and reaches for his seat belt and buckles up.

“So where to now?” Liam asks.

“You pick.” Harry smiles, turning on the radio.

“I love this song!” Liam yells out and turns up the volume.

Liam pulls out of the school one last time and the two sing at the top of their lungs as they drive away.

 


End file.
